Preetham Shetty & Co: Layman's guide to file your Tax Return

The due date for filing of income tax return (ITR) for the financial year 2017-18 (assessment year 2018-19) is 31 July 2018. ITR filing process starts from choosing the correct form, which depends on the nature of income and the status of the taxpayers.

Who all are liable to file the Income Tax Return?

Don’t presume that if tax has already been paid (via TDS), you don’t need to file the return. Irrespective of tax liability, every person whose total income is more than the basic exemption limit of Rs.2.50 lakh (3.00 Lakh in case of Senior Citizen), is liable to file his ITR.

How to go about it?

Step 1| Organize documents

Besides basic documents like your Permanent Account Number (PAN) and Aadhaar number or enrolment ID, you need to have documents related to income, investments, assets, bank accounts and so on. You don’t have to attach supporting documents along with the income-tax return form, you will need them to fill it.

If you had any income other than salary, like capital gains, rental income, divided income and so on, keep those documents handy too. Also, if you have any foreign income or assets, you need to have documents of that to put in details.

Step 2| Create your ITR e-filing account

If you are a first-time filer, you need to create an account on the ITR e-filing website. To login, you need to enter user ID (your PAN), password, date of birth and captcha code.

Step 3| Select the ITR Form

Login and select “filing of income tax return” on the dashboard. After that, choose the assessment year (AY) for which you want to file the ITR. The current AY is 2018-19, where you file returns for financial year (FY) 2017-18. FY is the year in which you earn the income, while AY is the year in which you assess your income and file your return. Next, choose the applicable ITR form.

Step 4| Fill in the details

Ensure you fill in the correct details. Aadhaar Number or enrolment ID is mandatory to file the return electronically. This year ITR forms are seeking a lot of new information like break-up of salary and house property income to be furnished in ITR-1 form instead of a single amount of income/loss, as required to be furnished earlier.

Step 5| Upload, e-verify return

The last step is to re-check all your details and upload the form. There is a window of 120 days from the date of uploading the return till which you can e-verify your return or send a signed copy of ITR-V to the tax department’s Central Processing Center, Bengaluru. If you are sending ITR-V physically, make sure you send it through ordinary or speed post and not by any private courier service.

What is 26AS, Form 16, Form 16A? Why is it important?

Form 26AS

Form 26AS is essentially a type of tax passbook that has details of various taxes deducted from your income. It can be downloaded from the income-tax department’s website. A taxpayer should ensure that ITR data is in sync with that of Form 26AS. The most common mistake done by the people is filing their ITR only using the form 16. However, you must check the other supporting documents like 26AS, Form 16A, saving proof etc.

Form 16/Form 16A?

Form 16 is a document issued by the employer to the employee listing the amount of income tax deducted and deposited with the government. Form 16 is issued after the end of the financial year for which tax was deducted. It essentially has two parts: Part A has details of the employee and tax deducted. Part B has lists salary break-up and deductions claimed. While Form 16 is for salary income, Form 16A is for income other than salary.

What is e-Verification of IT Returns?

Filing your income tax return (ITR) is not enough, you need to verify it too. Otherwise your return will not get processed. You can do the verification either offline or online. If you fail to either e-verify your ITR or post it to Centralized Processing Centre (CPC) of the income tax department in Bengaluru, return will be treated as an invalid return.

What happens if you miss the July 31 deadline?
One can file the income tax return after the July 31 deadline. However, the delayed income tax return attracts a late fee. If return is filed beyond due date but before December 31, then fees payable will be Rs.5,000 whereas in other cases it will be Rs.10,000.